In the process of crypto assets moving towards the mainstream, the endpoint of wealth has never been the numbers on the ledger, but the safe conversion in the real world.

In 2026, the crypto industry will enter the maturity phase of "pricing reevaluation," and the logic of fund flow is also undergoing profound changes. From on-chain earnings to fiat cash out, the C2C segment has become the key gateway connecting the virtual and the real. This report, based on the first anniversary operational data of Huobi Selection Station, combined with macro industry trends and user experiences, systematically reveals for the first time: a new C2C paradigm being reconstructed around "trust" is taking shape.

Macroeconomic Contrast: $311 Billion "Liquidity Islands" and Trust Crisis

According to the CoinGecko 2025 Annual Crypto Industry Report, the crypto market experienced a dramatic "asset misalignment" in 2025: despite the total crypto market cap falling by 10.4%, the market cap of stablecoins skyrocketed by 48.9%, breaking through $311 billion and setting a historical record.

This stark contrast in data reveals a lean industry truth: Users are not without profit, but are fearful of leaving the market.

A massive amount of funds remain trapped on-chain in the form of stablecoins, forming "liquidity islands." The root cause lies in the collapse of safety in fiat gateways under the traditional C2C model, which triggered an "exit panic." This "panic" can be glimpsed from a user survey on Huobi HTX C2C—Huobi HTX OTC systematically organized and attributed thousands of user feedback collected through public social media channels (@HTX_c2c) and daily work, listing six core pain points in C2C trading scenarios.


Among the many factors affecting user trading experiences, "card freezes and security anxiety" ranked first with an overwhelming share of 37%. This means that nearly four out of ten traders, when attempting to cross the boundary between virtual and real worlds, are primarily worried not about price fluctuations but about the safety of their assets. Additionally, 20% of users are troubled by concerns over merchant quality and entry barriers, 14% feel lost in the novice guidance, while issues like limited payment channels (11%), slow complaint handling (11%), and merchant information transparency (7%) are like hidden reefs scattered in the $311 billion liquidity artery.

The core conclusion is clear: the friction in entering and exiting funds is no longer limited to "exchange rate loss," but has evolved into uncertainty in account status stemming from "opaque fund backgrounds." This trust crisis directly obstructs the flow of hundreds of billions of funds, and the market urgently needs a fiat gateway "oasis" with absolute safety that can alleviate the 37% core anxiety at its root.

Microscopic Atlas under the Reefs: The Folded Truth of Trading and Psychological Defense Lines

When the macro data sinks to real individuals, the $300 billion in trapped stablecoins is no longer just a financial term, but a hesitation and fear experienced on the edge of "exiting."

This fear is most intuitively reflected in a form of psychological trauma jokingly referred to in the industry as "frozen card PTSD." An ordinary urban white-collar worker, accustomed to regularly allocating crypto assets amidst a busy work schedule, seeks the dignity of asset appreciation. However, a seemingly routine withdrawal request, matched with a counterpart of complex background, leads to all associated bank cards being instantly put into a "frozen state." This sudden freeze cuts not only cash flow but also the link to his real life—payment reminders for his mortgage, doubts at work due to inability to make normal payments, and even a deep panic regarding his personal credit system dilute the joy of wealth appreciation into anxiety for survival. In user feedback from Huobi HTX, that 37% safety anxiety stems from the passive harm brought about by this "risk spillover," leading countless defensive users to endure exchange rate losses, obsessively seeking that "absolute safe ground" for their funds.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the market, frequently trading "swing hunters" endure torment in another dimension. As professional traders, their lifeline depends on efficiency. Under the life-or-death speed of market fluctuations, they urgently need to cash in to buy lows or cash out to avoid risks, but the reality is often: unexplained delays in payment channels, low-quality merchants dodging responsibility, or indiscriminate hits from risk control systems. 11% facing payment limitations and 11% with delayed complaints translates waiting for ordinary people; for them, it means substantial "missed profit costs." These aggressive traders on the front line of the industry find that their core pain points are not simply avoiding all risks, but a strong desire for an oasis that can provide "certain feedback" between absolute safety and capital turnover rate, preventing opportunity costs from being completely lost in ineffective communication.

For those "stable whales" crossing bull and bear markets, the C2C market feels more like a "dark forest" fraught with danger. The logic of large funds entering and exiting is completely different from that of retail investors; they are acutely aware that their fund scale in the transparent on-chain world resembles a massive source of light, easily attracting infiltration from bad funds. In the past, due to a lack of transparency in merchant information (accounting for 7%), these big players often had to rely on "probabilistic choices" or past experiences to select counterparts. This asymmetry of information creates a near "private banking" level of demand when facing significant exit requirements—they not only need to trade but also need a credit card that can isolate risks from the source and dare to provide "full compensation in cash" under extreme probabilities.

This "real folding" on the microscopic level has also sparked widespread resonance on social media. As @Yep_Cooper mentioned in his in-depth tweet comparing the truth of inflows and outflows at three major exchanges, "The truth of freezing and compensation is the watershed that distinguishes the underlying color of platforms." Everyone's personal experiences point to a common demand: on the brink of trust collapse, the market urgently needs a deep trust model that transcends mere matchmaking and is at the infrastructure level.

Industry New Paradigm: From "Price Comparison Game" to "Trust Infrastructure," Huobi Selection Station Maintains a "Zero Freeze" Record Since Its Launch

After a year of steady operation, Huobi Selection Station has successfully implemented a high-standard trust model. Addressing long-standing pain points in the industry, Huobi Selection Station has built a three-layer protection system centered on "pre-identification + in-process intervention + post-event assurance," shifting C2C trading from sole "price competition" to "service and trust competition."

1. Dynamic Risk Control: Shifting from "Post-Event Handling" to "Prevention"

In response to 37% of safety anxiety, the Selection Station continuously upgrades its risk control system by training behavioral models covering thousands of abnormal behaviors, enabling real-time monitoring during transaction communication stages. Coupled with a 7x24 hours manual service system, it ensures that risk events are precisely intercepted before they occur.

2. Extreme Screening: Solving 20% of Merchant Quality Concerns

The Selection Station maintains a high merchant elimination rate through a strict merchant access and evaluation system. All registered merchants must undergo standard checks for real-name funds tracing, with "0 freezes since registration" as a core rigid metric to ensure the health of fund sources and flow in the trading chain. The merchants’ "hell-level" screening also serves as a credit screening: only those who truly have clean funding can enter this "oasis."

3. Results Highlighting: 0 Actual Freezes and 100% Full Compensation

Since its launch, Huobi Selection Station has maintained a record of "0 actual freeze cases." What truly solidifies its leadership position is the industry-first "100% full compensation mechanism." Providing certainty in extreme scenarios for users is not merely based on financial strength but on absolute confidence in its own risk control algorithms and merchant management models. This mechanism elevates the C2C risk baseline from "user's responsibility" to "platform coverage," completely ending users' concerns.

On this anniversary, as the strongest security bridge connecting the $311 billion ecosystem, Huobi Selection Station promises to continue investing in risk control infrastructure, striving to become the most solid safe haven in the crypto ocean, protecting every trader's right to "safely cash out." When "full compensation" becomes the industry standard and "zero freeze" becomes the trade norm, the true prosperity of the crypto market will follow. The meaning of wealth will ultimately resonate in every safe cash-out.

About Huobi HTX

Huobi HTX was established in 2013 and, after 13 years of development, has transformed from a cryptocurrency exchange into a comprehensive blockchain business ecosystem, covering digital asset trading, financial derivatives, research, investments, incubation, and other businesses.

As a leading global Web3 portal, Huobi HTX upholds global expansion, ecological prosperity, wealth effects, and security compliance as its development strategy, providing comprehensive, safe, and reliable value and services for virtual currency enthusiasts worldwide.

To learn more about Huobi HTX, please visit https://www.htx.com/ or HTX Square, and follow X, Telegram, and Discord. For further inquiries, please contact glo-media@htx-inc.com.